Royal look for city
Griffin Group unveils grand plan to transform the CBD
THE Strand’s historic Queens Hotel has opened its doors for the first time in years as the city got its first glimpse of a planned $ 250 million development.
The King Street Precinct project is proposed for a 2ha site bounded by The Strand, King St, Flinders St and Wickham Tce, an area which has languished mostly unused for decades.
The Griffin Group has joined with the Gleeson Group for the iconic CBD redevelopment plan, which includes a refurbishment of the Queens Hotel, a new cultural precinct, and connecting The Strand with Townsville City Council’s waterfront redevelopment.
Griffin Group developer Ben Griffin said the project was in its fifth month of a six- month pre- lodgement process, with plans for stage one expected to be submitted before Christmas.
Mr Griffin said last night was the first chance for more than 200 invited guests to see a scale model of the proposal and give their opinion on what should be included.
“There is not a better site in Townsville and in the lifetime of a developer it’s quite rare to be
handed a site with this strategic significance in the life of a city,” Mr Griffin said.
“We’ve got that opportunity and I think we feel a very heavy responsibility to ourselves, to the Gleeson family and to Townsville as a whole to make sure that this is delivered and maximises its potential.”
Hames Sharley architect Melissa Hughes said her firm was working on a masterplan that focused on mixed- use buildings involving retail, commercial and cultural spaces.
“It’s definitely a once- ina- lifetime opportunity and we’re really excited to be
part of it,” she said. “This project started a year ago for us, and we’ve been working with the family and council to try and develop a concept masterplan that will work for the site but also for the strategic planning of Townsville.”
Gleeson family patriarch Jack Gleeson said he felt a “great sense of the future” in seeing the project come to life. “We are very thrilled with the possibilities of the whole site,” he said.
“We welcome the opportunity to be able to remain involved in doing something in a positive way that will be enjoyed by the community, not only our people, but visitors to the area.”